Pet Dander Lingering in the Home

A friend of ours is cursed with severe pet allergies. Although I consider it a cruel joke to have pet allergies (and I can relate), it is a big issue and something he needs to deal with on a daily basis.

It’s become a bigger concern since he’s in the market for a new home and has visited several where there are pets. His main concern of course is how long does it take for the pet dander to completely leave the home?

A call to the doctor gave him some approximations, but of course, a doctor won’t guarantee anything. He was told that in general pet dander can take up to 6 months to fully leave the home. It can be in the vents, ducts, walls and carpets. A new carpet and newly painted walls may get rid of the dander faster, but there is no telling if there will be anything in the walls, frames, or baseboards.

There are some things that he can do to help make it a smooth transition if he does buy a place that used to have animals. Those include having the vents cleaned, rugs shampooed and investing in an air purifier. But again, there is no sure fire way to know if all of the dander is out of the home.